Colombo, Sri Lanka

A plane of Sri Lanka's national airline was recently grounded for three days. On Tuesday, the airline blamed a rat for the grounding and the subsequent catastrophic delays.

Advertisment

Amid concerns that the rodent may have chewed through components on the plane, the plane was grounded for three days at Colombo. 

Rodents on the run

The rat was spotted during last Thursday's (Feb 22) Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A330 trip from the Pakistani city of Lahore. 

Advertisment

Afterwards, a search was launched for the rat, as the airlines made sure none of the components aboard the aircraft were harmed.

Also read | Watch: Tears of joy flow as generous donor announces whopping $1bn donation to New York medical school

The rat was eventually found dead, and the plane has now resumed flights. However, as per media reports, a spokesperson for the airline said the entire schedule was affected. 

Advertisment

"The aircraft was grounded for three days at Colombo," said the airline official.

"The plane could not be flown without making sure that the rat was accounted for. It was found dead."

As per a Daily Mirror report, two aircraft were delayed after rats were found aboard them. 

Also read | Peru: Health emergency declared in provinces due to dengue

"We had to spray a chemical in two aircraft in which rats were found and grounded them for one day as per the international standards," said SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage on Sunday (Feb 25) during a discussion at Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Ministry.

Sri Lanka Airlines debts and concerns

As per reports, towards the end of March 2023, the cash-strapped airlines had incurred more than $1.8 billion in losses.

Three planes out of the state-owned airlines 23 aircraft fleet have already been grounded for more than a year.

There are also concerns that the cash-strapped Sr Lanka Airlines may lose investors.

Talking to reporters, Sri Lanka Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the rogue rodent could deter "the few investors" who were considering buying the indebted airline.

As per reports, the country's flag carrier has not turned profitable in more than 15 years or since 2008. Back then, the airlines' chief executive was fired by the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa for refusing to bump passengers for Rajapaksa's family on their way back from London.

(With inputs from agencies)